The risk of exposure to various chemical and biological agents is an ever increasing concern for military personnel as well as civilians. This concern is particularly heightened in view of recent terrorist attacks. In particular, terrorist threats involving such agents are increasing in the United States as well as abroad. In response to this threat, various countermeasures have been developed that are capable of neutralizing certain chemical weapon agents. For example, so called nerve agents, such as sarin, soman, and tabun are examples of phosphorous containing compounds which can be altered chemically to remove their toxicity. Since many of these compounds share a common or similar chemical moiety, a single chemical countermeasure can be used to neutralize many of them.
In addition to chemical and biological agents, there also exists a wide variety of contaminants such as toxic industrial chemicals (TIC's) and toxic industrial materials (TIM's) that raise concerns over public safety. Such contaminants include industrial chemicals, pesticides, and herbicides and other materials that may be released in the environment during normal processing, disposal, waste handling, or accidental discharge. Generally, such contaminates comprise a broad spectrum of chemical compositions that are not readily neutralized or destroyed with a single chemical countermeasure. As a result, exposure to such contaminants requires that an appropriate countermeasure be selected in order to effectively neutralize the contaminant. Further, many countermeasures are only effective if they are applied prior to an exposure and are unable to effectively neutralize contaminants after a person has been exposed.
The problems with selecting an appropriate countermeasure are of particular concern in environments where a wide variety of toxic chemicals/materials are being used. For example, many modern factories use a wide variety of different chemicals and substances in their every day operation and processes. As a result, there exists a wide variety of different toxic chemical/materials to which personnel within the factory may be exposed. Since exposure to many of these chemicals/materials can result in severe injuries to the exposed workers, and in some cases death, there is a need to provide countermeasures that can be used to effectively treat individuals after exposure.
Unfortunately, this creates problems with respect to the feasibility of maintaining an adequate number of the appropriate countermeasures, as well as problems associated with educating personnel on selecting the appropriate countermeasure. Such problems can be heightened in emergency situations after an exposure has occurred. As a result, it may be difficult to find and apply the appropriate countermeasure in a timely fashion, which can result in prolonged exposure and an increase in the severity of the injury. Further, many chemical countermeasures, such as chemical disinfectants like hypochlorite solutions are useful but are corrosive to most metals and fabrics, and to human skin. Liquid-like foam disinfectants have also been used, and generally require water and pressurized gases for efficient application. As such, they are typically not practical under many circumstances.
In addition to factories, such problems can also be experienced in many households across the country. For example, the typical kitchen sink cabinet may include many different chemical/materials ranging from household cleaning products to pesticides. Similar to the chemicals/materials that may be found in a typical factory, exposure to household chemicals can also result in severe injury. However, most households today do not even include the most basic of countermeasures, and as a consequence, water is often the first choice in an attempt to cleanse exposed skin or surfaces. Since many chemical/materials do not react or are insoluble in water, the use of water can further exacerbate the exposure and severity of the injury by spreading the chemical/materials around and thereby increasing the area of contact with the toxic chemical/material.
In addition to chemical countermeasures, physical decontamination methods can also be used to neutralize many toxic chemical/materials. Physical decontamination usually involves dry heat for an extended period of time or steam or super-heated steam for about 20 minutes. In some cases, UV light can be used effectively, but it is generally difficult to implement in actual practice. Such physical decontamination methods cannot be used in the case of exposure to human skin, and are often impractical to use under many circumstances. Accordingly, there still exists a need for effective countermeasures that can be used to neutralize many of the toxic chemical/materials that may be encountered in factories, as well as in the home.